Bypass or Sleeve CONFUSED

[ngoycoanaya 18]

My surgeon backed out last minute doing all and any gastric surgeries and now I'm in the market for a new one... Thank goodness I found one that accepted my insurance and I had all the pre-requisite testing done before hand... But now my biggest decision is to have either the bypass or the sleeve... My biggest fear is that the decision that I do think I do not want to fail my weight-loss goals now and in the future... Can anyone out there give me some of their experiences with both the bypass or sleeve???

[Beckyyb93 225]

I have lots of experience but first I'm going to ask if you have GERD or any acid reflux? Do you take Nexium or Tums? That will significantly change my answer because those conditions put you at a high risk for complications with the sleeve which is what happened to me.

[SahndraLynne 3]

I have lots of experience but first I'm going to ask if you have GERD or any acid reflux? Do you take Nexium or Tums? That will significantly change my answer because those conditions put you at a high risk for complications with the sleeve which is what happened to me.

Uhoh I am scheduled for the sleeve and I have Gerd and take Omeprizole.

[Beckyyb93 225]

I have lots of experience but first I'm going to ask if you have GERD or any acid reflux? Do you take Nexium or Tums? That will significantly change my answer because those conditions put you at a high risk for complications with the sleeve which is what happened to me.

Uhoh I am scheduled for the sleeve and I have Gerd and take Omeprizole.

I don't mean to scare anyone but in my own experience I had bad GERD and took Nexium everyday and once I had surgery the reflux got a lot worse and it got so bad that it's eroding my esophagus and they are revising me to a bypass to avoid esophageal cancer. I'm 21 and I'm probably a rare case but I have seen a lot of reflux complications around here from the sleeve. It's just something I'd talk to your surgeon about, please don't change everything based on one experience..just research it and talk it through with your doc. Mine never brought it up and I wish he had. If you click on me and see the threads I've started you can see my journey from a sleeve in 2012 to a bypass August 1st.

[SahndraLynne 3]

That really sucks I am so sorry to hear that and I will definitely talk to my surgeon. Thank you for the warning!

[ngoycoanaya 18]

No I don't have any acid reflux issues... But I do have gallstones... And I'm really confused as to which option is for me....I have my first consult on July 28 with my new doctor...

[Beckyyb93 225]

No I don't have any acid reflux issues... But I do have gallstones... And I'm really confused as to which option is for me....I have my first consult on July 28 with my new doctor...

Well, I originally went with the sleeve because it is less restricting. With the sleeve, you will be able to eat whatever you want (after you heal) just in smaller portions. With the bypass, there is usually food that you won't ever be able to tolerate such as white bread, white rice, and white Pasta. Some people can tolerate whole wheat bred, rice, and Pasta but others can't, Most everyone I know who have the sleeve without complications absolutely love it and have lost close to if not all the weight they wanted to lose. I've heard people with the bypass say they lost weight quicker and some think it's better suited to people who have more weight to lose but at the end of it all, it's your decision. The sleeve is also of course less invasive than the bypass. The only downside to the sleeve besides any complications you might have is the same as the upside, you can eat whatever you want. If you eat small portions of ice cream all day long you won't lose any weight, if you eat too much you can stretch your stomach whereas with the bypass it's likely you will just throw it up. You have to be committed 110% to get either surgery because both take a lot of hard work, it'll be worth it to be healthy though!

Good luck on your decision!

[HHHappy 225]

Read, read, read about both procedures along with discussing them with your surgeon. Good luck!

[joatsaint 2,814]

In my workplace, I have 3 ladies that have had the Bypass. I had the Sleeve. We are all very happy with our results.

I am by no means an advice expert on either, so you should ask your surgeon which one he recommends. And find out the pro's and con's of each type.

My surgeon had 12 years experience doing Bypass and Sleeve. He was doing the Sleeve as part 1 of a 2 part surgery (part 1 was the Sleeve to lose enough weight to safely do part 2 (revision to Bypass) for the super obese and found the many of his patients (after having the Sleeve) lost so much weight, they never had to have the revision to Bypass.

Once the Sleeve was recognized as a stand alone legitimate insurance approved option, he only recommends the Sleeve.

It is said that the Bypass is more effective for losing weight vs the Sleeve. The trade-off is having to take Vitamin supplements for the rest of your life, having part of the intestines removed, and Dumping Syndrome (food moving too quickly from the stomach to the intestines - in the Bypass, the valve at the lower end of the stomach is bypassed. It controls the flow of food from the stomach to the intestines).

With the Sleeve, only the stomach itself is trimmed. About 80% of the stretchy part of the stomach is removed. After about 9 months, I could eat almost anything without any grumbling from Frankensleeve. The trade-off is having to be more attentive to what and how much you're eating. Once the healing process is completed, it's easy to overeat (although no even close to the amounts I did pre-surgery) and get back into bad habits (since I can pretty much eat anything I want).

I had chosen the Sleeve before I had lined up my 1st doctor's appointment. I had been watching hours and hours of Youtube videos from new and veteran weight loss surgery patients. And I had been lurking on this board, reading every thread I found about complications, regrets, and pros and cons. This is one of those things where it's a life changing decision, so be sure of what you want.